Lisa-Jo Baker - The Middle Matters: Why That (Extra)Ordinary Life Looks Really Good on You

I want to give Lisa-Jos book a standing ovation because its exactly whats needed for this particular time, when our ordinary lives seem so unextraordinary compared with what we see or hear on our phones.

A ARTI S EQUEIRA, chef, TV personality, journalist, and author

Through personal stories about love, loss, and life in the middle, Lisa-Jo invites us to take a long look inside our own minds secret nooks and crannies, which arent nearly as dark, scary, or ordinary as we might think.

L AYLA P ALMER, The Lettered Cottage blog

In a world that is telling every woman to speed up and get to the good part or slow down because shes about to miss it, Im so grateful a message like The Middle Matters is bringing the grace and truth and good news that we need.

J ESS C ONNOLLY , author of Wild and Free

This is the kind of book you will want to read once a year, simply to get a refresh on all the truths and practical ideas contained inside.

M ANDY A RIOTO , president and CEO of MOPS International

For any adult who still sometimes feels like the shy, insecure kid from junior high, Lisa-Jo Baker is the breath of fresh air youve been waiting for. She gives us permission to fully embrace our livesimperfections and all.

J ENNIFER F ULWILER , SiriusXM radio host and author

As someone who wakes up shocked most days that Im middle aged but with young kids, I related to every word that Lisa-Jo put in this book. I read it in my messy car in the car line while I begrudgingly pulled out my new bifocals. This is a story of every woman at some point in time.

K ELLY S TAMPS , blogger and mom of three

This incredible book is like a magic mirror. It showed me just how marvelous my ordinary life already is.

C HRISTIE P URIFOY , author of Placemaker and cohost of the Out of the Ordinary podcast

With Lisa-Jos guts as our unfettered guide, may we finally learn the sumptuous truth of our years: that a grilled cheese sandwich without the middle is just toast.

E RIN L OECHNER , founder of OtherGoose.com and author of Chasing Slow

In this witty and heartwarming book, Lisa-Jo Baker makes a case for why the middle matters. And just like an Oreo wouldnt be the same without the cream in the middle, those seemingly mundane and messy middle years can actually be where some of the best stuff of life happens!

C RYSTAL P AINE , founder of MoneySavingMom.com, host of The Crystal Paine Show, and New York Times best-selling author

Lisa-Jo Baker isnt afraid to write what were all thinking. She tackles middle age with her trademark wit and down-to-earth charm, making every reader feel like shes sitting on the other side of the table for a coffee chat with the author.

C OURTNEY W ALSH , New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of Things Left Unsaid

Lisa-Jo reveals that the seemingly ordinary points of life are what hold the meaning and beauty of our interwoven stories.

J ESSICA H ONEGGER , Noonday Collection founder and author of Imperfect Courage

No one writes about motherhood, marriage, and life as Lisa-Jo Baker does. The Middle Matters is a vulnerable, compelling read that I want to gift to every friend I know.

J ESSICA T URNER , best-selling author of The Fringe Hours and Stretched Too Thin

Thank you, Lisa-Jo, for reminding women everywhere how important it is to find meaning in the midst of the confusing middle.

J OY P ROUTY , artist and educator

In The Middle Matters, Lisa-Jo gives us all a motivational mission and a plan for making it happen. Heres to finding glory in the middle!

C LAIRE D IAZ- O RTIZ , author and speaker

Once upon a time, I had no idea what a muffin top was. That time, my friend, has long passed. Im in my forties now, and me and my muffin topthat chubby little bulge of tummy that refuses to stay tucked away behind the top button of my jeans but insists on grinning around at the world over the top of my waistbandare on the closest of terms. Maybe more so than I would like.

It is one of the landmarks of my middle. Literally. And metaphorically. Because when I bump up against that chunky midsection that Im trying to accept, its with the same surprise I feel late at night after Ive exhausted another day of being in charge of my own life and the lives of all these people who live in our house, plus the cats.